Alcohol Dependence Syndrome
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There is an easy solution!
I saw a programme on the Japanese rail network. Every time the train drivers signed in for work they had to blow into an Alcohol detector.
Surely the same could happen with pilots? it does not matter whether you are dry, an alcoholic, or recovered alcoholic.
If you don't pass the test you don't climb into the aircraft.
Simple really follow the rail network system at least you will be clean for the duration of the flight!
it would be quite easy passing airside through security for crews to blow into such a device as used on the railway system in Japan.
That only took less than a minute showing they were clear of Alcohol and fit to drive the trains.
Then it would not matter if the pilot had a drink problem as it would eliminate any pilot taking the controls of an aircraft while still under the influence and eliminate any worries for airlines employing recovered alcoholics that they may lapse into their old ways.
Pace
I saw a programme on the Japanese rail network. Every time the train drivers signed in for work they had to blow into an Alcohol detector.
Surely the same could happen with pilots? it does not matter whether you are dry, an alcoholic, or recovered alcoholic.
If you don't pass the test you don't climb into the aircraft.
Simple really follow the rail network system at least you will be clean for the duration of the flight!
it would be quite easy passing airside through security for crews to blow into such a device as used on the railway system in Japan.
That only took less than a minute showing they were clear of Alcohol and fit to drive the trains.
Then it would not matter if the pilot had a drink problem as it would eliminate any pilot taking the controls of an aircraft while still under the influence and eliminate any worries for airlines employing recovered alcoholics that they may lapse into their old ways.
Pace
Last edited by Pace; 25th Jan 2014 at 09:31.
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If you don't pass the test you don't climb into the aircraft.
Simple really follow the rail network system at least you will be clean for the duration of the flight!
Simple really follow the rail network system at least you will be clean for the duration of the flight!
Firstly (the flippant one ! ) - what about the booze on board ? The bar or duty-free trolley. More responsibility for the number one to balance the books !
Secondly (and more seriously) many people who have a genuine alcohol problem will NOT necessarily be completely fit to fly simply because their blood (and therefore breath) concentration has fallen to zero. Performance factors such as alertness, memory, reaction time, concentration, to name but a few, may all remain impaired for much longer than ethanol is actually detectable.
I do agree, though, that this suggestion should NOT be opposed by the vast majority of crews who have no problem. As the old saying goes : "if you have nothing to hide, you have nothing to fear".
Está servira para distraerle.
Suffer the Synapse.
One dark and stormy night as you as you slog through the rain and hail to the airliner, carrying your Captain's flight bag and maintaining a respectful distance behind him, you might notice that your Skipper has a rolling sort of gait. His passage across the tarmac reminds you that he is a hearty sailor and owns a small but ship shape yacht which he keeps in the Southampton Solent. The boat's a refuge from the ogre that is his wife and her husband abusing techniques of sleep deprivation for no useful purpose and fragrant Spotted Dick spiked with Senokot. His wide based walk reminds you that here is your Commander, master of both seas and skies and you reflect, with a warm glow of tremulous anticipation, upon his promise that, at the end of your last sector, you'll have a glass or two of something really warming with him and the girls on their backs. He'd be a first class fellow then would he not, a paragon amongst role models? Well perhaps he might be but then again he could, it's not likely I'll admit but, Nystagmus notwithstanding, be suffering from Cerebellar Atrophy which manifests the symptom of Ataxia as well as a shifty eyed weasel look.
Alcohol and candles have similarities in that they can be burnt at both ends.
Grog might be the refuge into which a traumatised individual launches himself, the physical manifestation of a mental torment but it can also be the agent that has the most disastrous effects upon the delicate chemistry of the body and eventually the mind itself. The delights of Bacchus have a toxic effect upon the central nervous system and ingestion in circumstances favourable to its development can, over time and many pleasurable evenings, lead to Alcohol Related Brain Injury (ARBI) and Cerebral Degeneration. Is such damage more permanent than Cirrhosis of the Liver? That depends upon how many brain cells have been destroyed and how well the individual concerned has learnt to compensate for the impairment.
As Euripides had Promethius say, those whom the Gods wish to destroy they first make mad.
One dark and stormy night as you as you slog through the rain and hail to the airliner, carrying your Captain's flight bag and maintaining a respectful distance behind him, you might notice that your Skipper has a rolling sort of gait. His passage across the tarmac reminds you that he is a hearty sailor and owns a small but ship shape yacht which he keeps in the Southampton Solent. The boat's a refuge from the ogre that is his wife and her husband abusing techniques of sleep deprivation for no useful purpose and fragrant Spotted Dick spiked with Senokot. His wide based walk reminds you that here is your Commander, master of both seas and skies and you reflect, with a warm glow of tremulous anticipation, upon his promise that, at the end of your last sector, you'll have a glass or two of something really warming with him and the girls on their backs. He'd be a first class fellow then would he not, a paragon amongst role models? Well perhaps he might be but then again he could, it's not likely I'll admit but, Nystagmus notwithstanding, be suffering from Cerebellar Atrophy which manifests the symptom of Ataxia as well as a shifty eyed weasel look.
Alcohol and candles have similarities in that they can be burnt at both ends.
Grog might be the refuge into which a traumatised individual launches himself, the physical manifestation of a mental torment but it can also be the agent that has the most disastrous effects upon the delicate chemistry of the body and eventually the mind itself. The delights of Bacchus have a toxic effect upon the central nervous system and ingestion in circumstances favourable to its development can, over time and many pleasurable evenings, lead to Alcohol Related Brain Injury (ARBI) and Cerebral Degeneration. Is such damage more permanent than Cirrhosis of the Liver? That depends upon how many brain cells have been destroyed and how well the individual concerned has learnt to compensate for the impairment.
As Euripides had Promethius say, those whom the Gods wish to destroy they first make mad.
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cavortingcheetah, it is an absolute delight to read your posts in this thread
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Glengarry, there's a lot of success stories out there, also some old threads here, one in particular, I'm trying to find it.
Meanwhile, have a look at this: http://www.instituteforaddictionstud...20Aviators.pdf
Edit: found it, here http://www.pprune.org/3028059-post52.html - remarkable story, few go to jail, and it's really not necessary, if the person concerned (possibly even with some help from colleagues) takes early action. Few of these cases go that far, the vast majority involve much less drama, and are successfully resolved at a much earlier stage, quietly, with professional intervention. A lot of aviation is about tried and tested SOP's, and there is one for alcoholism too.
Aviation pioneer and Aviator Extraordinaire Antoine de Saint-Exupéry once observed this:
A lot has changed since he was flying, yet some things remain the same, alcohol is still there, and the short answer to your question is, yes, it can be fixed, it's been done countless times.
Meanwhile, have a look at this: http://www.instituteforaddictionstud...20Aviators.pdf
Edit: found it, here http://www.pprune.org/3028059-post52.html - remarkable story, few go to jail, and it's really not necessary, if the person concerned (possibly even with some help from colleagues) takes early action. Few of these cases go that far, the vast majority involve much less drama, and are successfully resolved at a much earlier stage, quietly, with professional intervention. A lot of aviation is about tried and tested SOP's, and there is one for alcoholism too.
Aviation pioneer and Aviator Extraordinaire Antoine de Saint-Exupéry once observed this:
A lot has changed since he was flying, yet some things remain the same, alcohol is still there, and the short answer to your question is, yes, it can be fixed, it's been done countless times.
Last edited by deptrai; 26th Jan 2014 at 20:18.
